I'm safely back home, and after a lengthy nap to get rid of the residual effects of the anesthetic, I'm even feeling half-way human once more.
Miss D. was a tower of strength this morning, staying with me through the pre-op preparation (and making snide remarks about how I looked in a backless, semi-closed surgical gown and nothing else). The procedure itself I don't remember, of course, but I woke up in the recovery room with my right side feeling a little like a tenderized steak (or, at least, what I presume a tenderized steak would feel like if it could feel at all). It continued to hurt after I woke up, until I remembered that thanks to pre-op instructions, I hadn't had a painkiller for almost 24 hours. Percocet is your friend at times like these!
I'll have a quiet evening, and see how things go. Here's hoping that the remains of the kidney stone will exit via the normal route over the next few days. I have to filter my output to save what fragments I can, so they can be analyzed; then in a couple of weeks I'll have some more tests, so that the people in white coats can figure out what kind of kidney stone it was, and what I need to do to avoid getting any more.
I was intrigued by one snippet of information. Apparently a low-carb diet (which Miss D. and I are trying to follow) is great for weight loss and control, but it means more protein - which can actually increase the chances of kidney stones. Does this mean I can have lovely, hot, straight-from-the-oven bread once again? Here's hoping!
Peter
19 comments:
Glad you're back, and with someone to look after you. Best of luck for a super fast recovery, Peter.
Good luck with the recovery!
Depending on the type of kidney stone you may need to give up all soda, most alcohol, red meat, and drink LOTs of water instead. LOTs of water is the key to not having to go through this again.
Pain meds are your friend the next few days :)
Feel better fast!!
Suz
Glad you're on the mend!
LittleRed1
I believe that extra butter on a slice of hot bread helps it slide through with no residual effects. (I am careful not to verify this with any responsible authority.)
That high-protein diet's probably the culprit. I had a kidney stone at age 23, believe it or not. I have to stick to a high-protein diet due to my reactive hypoglycemia (result of an overactive pancreas), and the docs said that was probably the primary contributing factor. Of course, all the soda I was drinking at the time probably didn't help matters either.
Glad to hear you're doing better, and I will continue to pray for a complete and speedy recovery.
A backless semi-enclosed surgical gown...thanks a lot Peter, I will carry that mind picture to my grave, so much for any uninterrupted sleep for years to come!.
Haven't coomented here before, but just ran across these which you might find interesting.
Short version:
http://youtu.be/VWtaLLjJzn4
Long version:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18a1b6_michael-mosley-eat-fast-live-longer_lifestyle
FWIW.
"A backless semi-enclosed surgical gown...."
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Some thoughts and visions should not be inflicted on innocent browsers........
/reaches for brain bleach, 12yr old single malt variety....
Very happy to read that you are safely on the path to recovery.
Best wishes to you both :) .
So glad you chose to come back towards the light. :-D
A backless semi-enclosed surgical gown..so what't the flap?
Good to have you back.
A beer a day keeps the stones away!
There's some effect of protein especially animal protein. Exactly what the best diet is depends on what the stones are made of, but a diet too low in magnesium and potassium seems to be at least as big a factor as protein. Citric acid is often very helpful. High sodium, or more probably, sodium intake that is both too high and to high in relation to the potassium intake.
And, especially for uric acid stones, blood sugar problems and excessive fructose, especially high fructose corn syrup, (but for some, it's better to go very high green veg (except for high oxalate veggies) and very modest fruit intake. Uric acid also exacerbates insulin resistance, and vice versa.)
Eat more high potassium foods, and probably take a mix of magnesium and potassium (if you're not on diuretics or have some pathology that precludes this) citrates.
If you've been supplementing with vitamin D but not with K2, (and A, and E) that may be a contributor. This is a pretty good summary:
http://chriskresser.com/how-to-prevent-kidney-stones-naturally/
I hope you pass the fragments without too much trouble. Definitely no fun.
I would like to recommend distilled water to prevent the formation of stones. Can't hurt!
Find out what the stone was made up of. There are things out there that you can swallow that keep many of those things from aggregating.
No kidney stones yet **knocks on wood, turns around 3 times and spits** but have made the movie parodies of suffering from gout look like toned-down and Bowdlerized version. Between sort of watching my diet (sardine sammiches once a month instead of for lunch every day) and that nice orange pill that keeps the uric acid from crystallizing in my big toe and knee (at least they were on opposite sides so I suffered no matter what I moved) I have not had a flare for not-gonna-say-lest-the-evil-eye-hears.
Make friends with your docs, and make better friends with your pharmacist.
stay safe.
Glad you are recovering. My husband has had stones since he was in his late twenties, and the pain is atrocious . Glad you're rid of that. Percocet? Drink lots of water. :)
Peter,
Congratulations on your march through the valley of the shadow and successful exit on the other side.
Never easy that sensation of being here one minute and not the next then back to reality hours later with no feeling of time having passed.
Passing the fragments and shaking off the residual effects of the anesthetic will take time, always longer than you think or would want, but be patient.
In any case, glad you made it, welcome back.
I'm happy to hear you are doing better. On a side note, I'm halfway through your second novel and enjoying it quite a bit. Feel better and keep up the good work!
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